Researchers from the Department of Educational Psychology’s school psychology program and Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) recently published three studies exploring the access, participation, and outcomes of young children with special need eligible to receive federally subsidized child care. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was led by school psychology faculty, Amanda Sullivan, with collaborators CEED’s Amy Susman-Stillman as well as school psychology lecturer Elyse Farnsworth and PhD student Jordan Thayer.

The team’s findings suggest unique patterns of access and participation, including some disparities in access, and a need to improve the quality of care provided to young children with special needs in these settings. The studies appear in the journals Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Children and Youth Services Review, and Infants & Young Children.